by Justin McCurry | that he or she is unsuitable,” says | |||||
Okawa, a 40-year-old former office | ||||||
1 | Japan is in the midst of a boom in | worker whose divorce – and | ||||
services that promise to reunite | infatuation with James Bond films – | |||||
couples months, and sometimes years, | prompted her career change. “Before | |||||
after they have gone their separate | long the target knows all about his new | |||||
ways. Ladies Secret Service is a private | lover's debt problems, her sordid past, | |||||
detective agency in Tokyo’s upmarket | or the fact that she has a young child | |||||
Ginza district. About 70% of its clients | she failed to mention.” | |||||
are women, aged between 20 and 40. It | 5 | Typically, fukuenya agents are | ||||
has successfully rekindled romances on | presentable and sociable, but insiders | |||||
behalf of hundreds of men and women | say the most successful have a quick | |||||
who are prepared to spend huge sums, | mind as well as good looks. “Looks | |||||
of up to 700,000 yen (£3,300) a | alone aren’t usually enough to bring in | |||||
month, on their quest to win back | the results you get paid to produce,” | |||||
former lovers. | said Satoyo Nakamura, who reunites | |||||
2 | The agency’s president, Yoshiko | couples for another company, the | ||||
Okawa, employs about 300 men and | Japan Research Information Centre. | |||||
women who are selected for their | “It’s a job that requires being able to | |||||
ability to befriend their targets and | assume the role of a counsellor who | |||||
convince them that breaking up with | can bring about radical changes in | |||||
an ex-lover or divorcing their spouse | thinking, not just in the target, but also | |||||
was the biggest mistake of their lives. | in the client. It’s an extremely difficult | |||||
Her team of fukuenya – “those who | job.” | |||||
restore bonds” – use hi-tech | 6 | Fukuenya carry out their | ||||
surveillance, counselling and outright | operations in utmost secrecy. Even | |||||
deception to achieve the most unlikely | when attempts at reconciliation are | |||||
reconciliations. | successful, the targets must never learn | |||||
3 | “After they have won the target’s | how they came about, says Okawa, who | ||||
trust, they might mention our client in | routinely refuses media requests to | |||||
passing and feign amazement when | interview clients or agents. In one | |||||
they realise they have a mutual | typical case an agent tried to convince | |||||
acquaintance,” Okawa said. “All the | a bar hostess to go back to her ex- | |||||
while our agents are learning as much | husband. Over five months he | |||||
about their new friend as possible and | frequented the woman’s club | |||||
are devising a plan to reunite him or | pretending to be a wealthy | |||||
her with our client. The trigger for | businessman, accompanied by a friend | |||||
reconciliation could be a ‘chance’ | posing as a fortune teller. He spoke | |||||
meeting in the street or a location that | about how his friend’s psychic insights | |||||
evokes happy memories of their time | had helped him become rich, and | |||||
together,” she added. “We relay any | before long the hostess agreed to have | |||||
complaints the target has to our client, | her fortune read. The sooth-sayer’s | |||||
so they can decide whether to make the | advice was, [id:58791] , to return to her ex- | |||||
necessary changes to repair their | husband. They reunited and eventually | |||||
relationship. It could be a divorcee | remarried. | |||||
who wants to get back with her ex- | 7 | Okawa puts her success rate at | ||||
husband, but who needs to change her | around 50%, and believes that, in time, | |||||
appearance or keep the house tidier | more lovelorn people will seek her | |||||
before there is any chance of that | help. “When the economy is in real | |||||
happening.” | trouble, people are defeatist and tend | |||||
4 | When the obstacle to a possible | to give up on relationships too easily, | ||||
reconciliation is a third person, the | even if money wasn’t the actual cause | |||||
agents face the task of engineering the | of the break-up,” she said. “If they | |||||
end of one relationship before they can | have more money in their pockets they | |||||
repair the other. “We do an incredible | are naturally more optimistic, even | |||||
amount of research into the new man | about winning back old flames.” | |||||
or woman in our target’s life, and then, | ||||||
if we actually find anything, drop hints | The Guardian, 2008 |